The late Jackpine Bob Cary, respected Ely elder, still speaks to us. Will we listen?

Environmentally, “We,re a spitten mess!”

In 2002, Bob Cary spoke at Vermilion Community College. He was one of about 20 speakers in a series called “Speaking of Wilderness” sponsored by the Sigurd Olson Listening Point Foundation. Mining, fishing, canoeing, Knife Lake, local Native American elders, the Ojibwa language (which he studied in his later years and could speak, as best a white man can), and what we are doing to the environment, were all covered. His conclusion that ‘We’re a spittin mess!” could only be argued against by a Tea Party Republican or an Iron Range Mining activist. What would Jackpine Bob Cary have to say about Sulfide Ore mining in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. I doubt that it would be any different, “We’re a spittin mess.